


Are you a ghost?

by crimson_dragongem



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family, Fluff, Gen, Himawari is a ray of sunshine, I don’t really have a good explanation for this, Neji is confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-02-26 20:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18724600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimson_dragongem/pseuds/crimson_dragongem
Summary: Neji wasn’t entirely sure how or why he’d acquired his pint-size stalker.Or: in which Neji’s training is interrupted by a strange little girl who accuses him of being a ghost.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Français available: [Êtes-vous un fantôme?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18773047) by [Coton Ouaté (TreasuredHopes)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TreasuredHopes/pseuds/Coton%20Ouat%C3%A9)



> This idea got stuck in my head AGES ago, but has been infuriating to get down in actual words. It’s basically been fighting me every step of the way, and I’m still not thrilled with it, but here it is.

Neji wasn’t entirely sure how or why he’d acquired his pint-size stalker.

The first time Neji saw her, it was only a brief glimpse out of the corner of his eye while he was training in the dojo. When he paused to look at her, she uttered a small squeak of alarm and bolted away in a flash of dark hair. Belatedly, he activated his Byakugan, and was surprised to find no sign of her.

The second time she appeared was nearly a month later. It went similarly, with the girl vanishing abruptly as soon as she saw him looking her way.

Again the same thing happened a few weeks later on her third appearance, much to his frustration. Even with his Byakugan active, the girl was like a ghost with how quickly she vanished and evaded his senses.

The fourth time he noticed her presence, he made a point not to react. This time she lurked in the doorway watching him for several minutes before running off.

He finally got a good look at her on her fifth appearance. He continued to pretend he hadn’t noticed her, keeping an eye on her or of the corner of his eye.

At one point she got distracted by something, though he wasn’t sure what. He took the opportunity to sneak a better look at her. The girl looked a remarkable amount like Hinata when she was little. He could have sworn the kid was a relative - but who ever heard of a Hyuuga with blue eyes? And he knew for certain none of the branch family had any kids that young in the compound.

She started to appear to watch him train on a more frequent basis until eventually she was there every few days to watch him. He wasn’t entirely sure when it happened, but they had settled into a bizarre routine. She even stopped bolting whenever he looked in her direction.

The first time she spoke, Neji was caught completely off guard.

“You’re Hyuuga Neji,” she stated in a wavering voice.

Neji’s attention snapped to the dojo entrance, locking onto his tiny shadow.

“That’s right,” he replied, not sure where this was going.

“Are you a ghost?”

That certainly not something he expected to be asked. He was momentarily at a loss on how to respond.

“It’s okay if you are. I’m not scared of ghosts.” The girl stated bravely.

Neji didn’t quite believe her. He raised an eyebrow. The girl was fidgeting nervously with the long sleeves of her sweater.

“I’m not a ghost.” He replied.

She squinted at him, a very serious look on her face. Neji felt the corner of his lips twitch in amusement. Despite her look, she certainly didn’t act like a Hyuuga.

“Are you sure?” She asked. Her brow scrunched up in an intensely thoughtful expression.

“I’m sure.”

“Oh.” She said. “How do you know you’re not a ghost?”

“Do I look loke a ghost?” He deadpanned, trying to keep a straight face.

“No...” she replied slowly, stretching out the word far longer than Neji felt the single syllable word should go.

“Are you really Neji nii-san?” She asked doubtfully. “My brother says you have to be a ghost.”

Neji didn’t know who her brother is, but he nodded anyway. “I’m not a ghost.”

The little girl’s face broke out into a brilliant smile and his heart immediately started to melt.

“Okay then!” She chirped, and launched herself at him, apparently forgetting her previous fear entirely. He found himself with an armful of flailing limbs and enthusiasm. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Neji nii-san,” she greeted sunnily. “I’m Uzumaki Himawari!”

If he hadn’t been a ninja, he surely would have dropped her in shock.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhhh surprise! Apparently I had more confused Neji to add.

The conversation with Naruto was about as enlightening as mud.

“Eh?”

“Do you have any relatives in the village?”

“I don’t think so? Why do you ask?”

Neji sighed internally.

“Forget I said anything,” he replied, and took his leave.

“You’re so weird sometimes, y’know?” Naruto shrugged and returned to devouring his ramen. Neji wisely refrained from dignifying that with a response.

As he made his way back to the compound, his thoughts returned to the girl who’d become such a regular part of his routine. He hadn’t seen her in the week since she’d skipped away after dropping that bombshell of information. Perhaps it was a prank? Though Naruto was the primary suspect and this didn’t fit his style at all. If one of his teammates was responsible, they certainly wouldn’t have used Naruto’s name that way. Though the weird whisker marks and those blue eyes did have a striking resemblance to the blond, but how could that be? He was fairly certain Naruto would have made a huge fuss by now if he actually had living relatives.

Unless... he was fairly certain the girl was at least six, maybe seven years old, but what if he was wrong? What if she was actually younger than that? Like three or four?

No, absolutely not. Neji flat out refused to entertain that train of thought any further. There’s no way this girl was Naruto’s kid. Unless she was conceived before he went on his training trip with Jiraiya-sama. Plus, that would have meant Naruto was screwing around when he was thirteen and Neji really didn’t even want to think about how messed up that would be. It was completely inconceivable: No Hyuuga in their right mind would let themselves be knocked up by that idiot. The only one who had even a passing interest was his cousin, and Hinat-

Neji felt his brain short circuit and screech to a grinding thought. Nope. This was pointless speculation that has delved into the realm of completely illogical. Really, this wasn’t like him to get so rattled. 

Berating himself, he made a bee-line to the closest training ground. Yes, hitting things would distract him. Maybe Lee would be there already.


End file.
